Late Easter could mean late planting

COOKSVILLE – Easter falls later than usual this year and that isn’t going over well for area farmers.

A late Easter can translate into a late planting season, according to Doug Matlock, plant manager for the Brandt Consolidated Cooksville location in McLean County.

“I don’t see a lot of field activity happening,” Matlock told The Central Illinois Farm Network this week.

Some rain fell across Central Illinois earlier this week and more is expected through today. Next week doesn’t look too promising either with the cooler temperatures expected to linger for the next several days.

On the eastern side of Matlock’s territory, growers received ample rainfall with over three inches measured in some locations. At the same time, nearly no rain fell to the west. This allowed some farmers to knock down chiseled corn stalks and perform other field activities.

“They were doing some fieldwork to the west of Cooksville with anhydrous ammonia and a little bit of 28 application,” said Matlock.

Once the weather allows, crews from Brandt will finish up fertilizer spreading before applying pre-plant chemicals.